Rouses Markets Gears Up for Growth With New Corporate Complex

To support its continued growth and expansion, Rouses Markets revealed plans to develop a new office and warehouse complex in its native Terrebonne Parish in Louisiana.

The move by Thibodaux, La.-based Rouses Markets—which is one of the fastest-growing family owned companies in the United States—is slated for January 2020, just as Rouses Markets kicks off its 60th anniversary.

The regional retailer’s new complex is located on 32 acres at the intersection of Highway 311 and Highway 90, about 40 miles west of New Orleans, and includes 310,000 square feet of climate-controlled space and land to add more warehouses, coolers, freezers and eventually, a commissary.

The new location will allow the privately owned Rouses—which has 63 locations across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and five additional stores under construction—to have greater access to serve all stores in its marketing territory, according to company officials.

The move to the new digs is expected to add about 150 new corporate support positions and another 200 new warehouse jobs to Rouses’ existing 6,700 member team of associates.

CEO Donny Rouse, who purchased the property on March 28 on behalf of his family’s company, said the move is a return to the company’s roots. “We’re increasing store support services to better serve our stores and customers. Terrebonne Parish makes perfect sense. We started here with our very first store in 1960,” said Rouse, noting that Anthony J. Rouse Sr. and his cousin, Ciro Di Marco, ran the company’s first 7,000-square foot store in Houma, La.

Rouse said the purchase of the new complex was made possible with the help of Gov. John Bel Edwards, Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove, on behalf of the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, and State Rep. Tanner Magee.

“I applaud Donny Rouse and the Rouse family for keeping jobs and resources local, and welcome their store support to Terrebonne Parish,” Dove said in a statement.

Looking ahead to next January when Rouses Markets will celebrate its 60th year in business, Donny Rouse said he “couldn’t ask for a better start to our anniversary year than a homecoming to Terrebonne Parish, where it all started.”